The user guide was developed as a non-mandatory, advisory document, and is published as a public service. Intended users of NAFS include code officials, manufacturers, architects, engineers, consumers, builders, contractors, trade associations, testing laboratories, specifiers and government agencies.The user guide contains informative commentary, illustrations and examples to help answer common questions associated with the standard.

"The NAFS User Guide is the latest product of the ongoing effort to harmonize fenestration standards in North America," said Joe Hayden, senior project engineer for Pella Windows and Doors, who served as WDMA’s Joint Document Management Group (JDMG) co-chair. "This effort started nearly 20 years ago and is evidence of the fenestration industry's desire to offer our customers a single, unified performance specification across borders."

The NAFS User Guide is structured to parallel the standard itself, with section numbers identical to those in the main standard, allowing users to quickly find the User Guide commentary and the corresponding section in the standard, AAMA reports.